Band’s CD proves sellout hit for city

A Christmas project by the mayor and the Royal Hawaiian Band makes $10,000

The Royal Hawaiian Band and Mayor Mufi Hannemann have sold out the first batch of Christmas compact discs.

Councilman Charles Djou said not only have 2,582 CDs been sold, but the band has cleared a $10,000 profit.

"I think what the report demonstrates is that the project was highly successful from the standpoint of generating some funds for the Royal Hawaiian Band Music Society," said Jeff Coelho, the mayor's executive adviser. "But I also think it demonstrates that the public recognized that there was a performance piece that was worth purchasing."

The CD, "Christmas with the Royal Hawaiian Band & Friends," is the first project done with the new fundraising nonprofit group, Royal Hawaiian Band Music Society, which will use the proceeds to help defray band costs. Hannemann sings two tunes on the CD.

Djou said he is satisfied with the report. He had asked for an accounting of the project to see whether taxpayers' money footed any part of the production costs.

"My inquiry from the beginning was to make sure whether or not any taxpayer resources were being used for this. It was no different than my inquiry into (former Mayor) Jeremy Harris' book," Djou said.

The city paid $108,763 to produce the Harris book, "The Renaissance of Honolulu," in 2004 and received $32,731 in revenue, losing more than $76,000. About 1,000 copies remain unsold.

"I wanted to make sure that the (Hannemann) administration wasn't doing the same thing," Djou said. "I'm glad that they did not use taxpayer resources."

According to the report, $30,395 in revenues came from the society, a Hawaii Tourism Authority grant, and sales of the discs.

Production expenditures totaled $20,050, leaving a little more than $10,000 left over related to the first shipment of CDs. And there was also a production for a second shipment of 1,050 CDs ordered at a cost of $2,511.

According to the report, about 824 remain for sales with a value of $9,888.

"It's one thing to produce something that nobody buys. It's another thing to produce a product people actually want to go out and purchase," Coelho said, noting that the disc has been nominated for a Na Hoku Hanohano award.